Movable means for supporting draperies



Jan. 92 1951 o. T. sTALL MOVABLE MEANS FOR SUPPORTING DRAPERIES f/2 f47 FE E Filed July 5, 1946 /A/ VEA/TGR ORl//LLE 7.' STA/L ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ivioveeitn MEANS FOR SUPPORTING DRAPERIES 4 Claims.- 1

My invention relates to movable means for' supporting draperies and has for its object to provide means for mounting the draperies inset. extended position, in combination with means for moving the draperies so positioned and seti laterally to expose all or any part of the window'. while not disturbing in any way the set of the draperies; and further to mount the draperies so set in pairs' and to provide means: for simulta'neously moving. the individual draperies of the' f pair either toward or away from each other.

In the present practicev of mounting draperies it is customary to mount the draperies. upon` some supporting member such as a bracket-supported rod so as to either leave the entire window exposed or to cover part of the window on each side and to adjust the draperies for more or less Window exposure by sliding or' bunching together the individual draperies upon their support, thus substantially changing the set of the draperies.

A grave diiculty has been encountered in so mounting draperies in that the draperies can not be. permanently set in position to afford' the best 'and most attractive arrangement or folds and hanging loops but that the set of the draperiesis changed every time they are adjusted on their supports. Sliding the draperies upon its support sov as to.V in eiect refold it together or unfold it can not be made without. interfering with the best form of both folds and loops and getting the` folds and loops out of balance and out of proportion.

I have discovered a very simple wayv ofv overcoming all of these dihiculties and providing for the hanging of draperies in a fixed positionwith they folds and loops properly set for the most attractive and decorative drapery arrangement in. combination with means whereby the entirel drapery arrangement may be adjusted. in unchanged condition laterally oi the window to expose all of the window or only such parts oi the window as itis. wished to have exposed.

I. accomplish this by the use of a U-bar having one of its arms slidable in a bracket Xed to the window frame and the other arm extending substantially parallel to the bracketed arm and.- carrying the draperies in a Xed arrangement of' folds and loops, such that theV drapery may'be'sl'id` on the supporting arm to be entirely at' one side' ofthe window, leaving the window fully exposed, or it may be brought over a part or" theI window so, with two of such draperies positioned in thev same manner', only such central Dart of the window' asV may' be desirable to haveV exposed may be: seen past' the adjacent edges or. the adjusted.l

2 drapery, all without in any way displacing or interf'eringv with the drapery' folds? and loops as initially set. f

I have further discovered that with this' arrangement of hanging the draperies a systemof! cords and pulleysican be so secured to the drapery frame that pulling on the'- cord. in one direction will simultaneously move the drapery frames away from each other to carry the draperies te the sides oi' thev window and pulling on another cord will simultaneously move the draperies toward each: other" to cover a greater or lessarea of the'. window exposed between the edges of the draperies.

It is a principal object of invention, therefore, to providev a U-member having` onearm'v thereofA held slidabl-y Withinabracketand having the other arm entirely treeandada-ptedto receive. on. it one of apair of. draperies having. a preformed permanent set to the folds and loops of the draperiesit isa further object'of my invention to mount on the drapery'support arm aslide by which the' length of. thatarm may be adjusted. to accordi with the desired width of the drapery member vvhenthe same is set.

It is a' further obj ect of. my invention; to provide` a. bracket having a pair.v of guide membersy spaced to receive for endwise' movements an arm ofv a Uf-pieceg. upon the other arm of which the draperies will be folded and set, and to havey irr corrjunction with. said. bracket a plate which may overlie` the top of theY windowl frame, to which the bracketmember vv-ill be secured by anyy suitable means such as screws.

It is afurther object of my invention to secure to the bracketed armn of the U-member a;- connector piece which is in turn connected: with: a cord. in such manner that by tractiononthe cord the` U- piece may be slid in` the bracket. member which supports it, to.l position the otherwise i-Xed draperies on the other arm of the L11-piece, for the purpose of exposing more or less of the sur-- fac'e of the: window adjacent which. the draperies are hung.

It is a further object of. myinvention-to employ a pair of. said draperies and have a continuous cord member connected with each of the draperysupporting U--piecesinsuch manner thatby pull-- ing the cord in one. direction the. U-piece. and supporting draperies-will be` caused tomove away from. each other and by pulling on the cord. in the" opposite direction they may be caused. to move towardv oneanother..

Itlis a further object-of my invention to provide means for adjusting and holding in adjusted position the length of the cord connected with the U-pieces for accommodating the drapery-holding means to windows of diierent widths.

It is a further obj ect of my invention to provide means connected with the draperies and having a loop formed thereon for conveniently attaching the draperies to the drapery-holding part of the U-pieces.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof which will now be given in the following speciiication; and the novel features by which the aforementioned advantageous and useful results are obtained will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating an application of my invention in one of its forms:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of the drapery hanging means as positioned above a window with the draperies not attached.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of what is shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 considerably enlarged.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1 very much enlarged.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation view of the arrangement with the draperies in position and the win- -dow substantially fully exposed.

Fig. 8 is an elevation view similar to Fig. l with the draperies drawn together.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 9 9 of Fig. 8.

As illustrated, particularly in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, a bracket I0 is provided which has a top plate II adapted to extend over the top edge I2 of 4a window casing I3 and to be secured in position by screws I4. If desired, a ller piece I5, Fig. 6, may be placed upon the face of the casing member I3.

The face wall I6 of bracket i0 is formed with two pairs of lips I1 and I8, and I9 and 2e respectively which are spaced apart as indicated in Fig. 1. These lips are pressed out of the metal of the front wall I6 of the bracket I6, as shown at 2l in Fig. 6.

An arm 22 is formed on a U-piece 23 which is adapted to be mounted for longitudinal sliding movements inside of the respective sets of lips I1 I8 and I9-26.

The U-piece 23 in addition to the arm 22 includes a broad semi-circular curved end 24, which curve can be made greater or less as desired to accommodate different types of draperies.

The curve 24 is connected with a forwardly exf1 tending arm 25 which is parallel with arm 22 and has no connection with it excepting through the curve 24.

Upon the arm 25, as best shown in Figs. land 2, is a sleeve 26 which slides with a close t along arm 25 and is adapted to adjust the length of the arm to nt the width of draperies which will be employed. The sleeve 26 will preferably be finished at its inner end with an ornamental head 21.

The above arrangement may be complete in itself. There will oe a U-piece unit mounted as above described at each side of the window, indicated generally at 28 and on these two members draperies indicated at 2S and 36 will be applied and permanently pleated as there shown.

The draperies will extend to and preferably around or partly around curved end 24 of the U-piece, to conceal operating parts, and will go out to the end of the extensible slide member 26.

When the U-piece is fully extended, as shown in Fig. 2, a stop member 3l will engage the end of the bracket lil and prevent the U-piece from being pulled away from the window further. 1n that position the draperies at either side will hang ilush with the side edges of the window leaving substantially the entire window exposed between the draperies. y

This amount of exposure may be varied at will by simply sliding the U-pieces or the arms 22n thereof inwardly in the guide lips Il, I8 and I9,v

20 formed on the bracket I6 until, if it is desired to cover the entire window with the draperies, they may be brought into the position indicated at 32 and 33 of Fig. 8 with a meeting line at 34.

The draperies are attached to the arm 25 or the composite arm 25, 26 in the manner shown in Fig. 9. A clip device 35 is provided with an outer loop 36 of spring metal and a lower clip lip 3l, which, by spring action, will encircle and clamp to the U-piece arm 25 or the composite U-piece arm 25 and 26.

Secured to the loop 36 at its bottom by a continuing loop 38 is a pin 39 which may be passed through a stitching 46 on the draperies on the draping line 4I. This holds the draperies, as at 2S and 36 of Fig. '7 and 32 and 33 of Fig. 8, in xed folded and draped position on the bar 25 and the composite bar 25, 26.

The clip 3l' will be expanded against spring tension in being pressed in position on the arm 25 or the composite arm 25, 26, and that springV tension applied to the dat arm 25 or the slide thereon 26 will hold the pinch pleats in xed position and the drape as a whole permanently arranged regardless of the movements made of the U-piece support.

With this arrangement, as above pointed out, the position of the drape relative to the window opening can be easily adjusted to giveV more or less window opening without the need of moving or adjusting the arrangement of the drape upon the supporting arm 25 or combination arm 25, 26.Y

It is also true that a movement of the drapes toward each other` and away from each other can be eiected without in any way disturbing the window curtain or curtain rods or venetian blinds, if such are used.

While I have shown the bracket I0 as supported upon the top of the window casing, it is obvious that it may be supported by screws or other fastening means on the side of the window casing, and the guides on the bracket in relation to the support of the bracket on the window frame insure that the lines of the drapes top and bottom will run along lines of a true horizontal position. Y

It is, of course, practical, by removing the connector member or stop 3l, to reverse the U-piece,

putting the shorter arm 25 through the guide'V U-member having a slide arm 42 and a connector.

5 piece 43 corresponding to the connector piece 31 on slide arm 22 of U-piece 2B.

It is desirable in the use of my invention to have means for easily and simultaneously moving the drapery-supporting members and the draperies thereon either toward each other to close off more or less ci the exposed window surface, or away from each other to expose the window more or less. To accomplish this I use a system of cords shown in Figs. l and 2 and in some ci. their details in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

This system embodies a cord strand s4 which is fastened to co-nnector piece d3, as indicated at 45 in Fig. 2. The cord member 4d passes around a roller d6. The strand lill beyond roller l continues as a second or return strand 4l, Fig. 2, which is secured to the connector piece 3|, as indicated at 48 in Fig. 2.

The connector piece d3, identical with connector piece 3i, is shown in enlarged detail in Fig. 4, and as there shown, is secured to the slide arm 42 of the U-piece by means of a screw bolt 49. These connector pieces have at their top a right-angled plate 5G in which there is an opening 5l through which the cord ill passes in a loop 53, as indicated in Figs. l and 4. This loop goes through an otherwise free ring 52, which, with opening 5 i, is the securing element.

This arrangement not only secures the cord strands 4d and 4l to the respective connector members i3 and 3i, but secures 'them in a manner for readyV adjustment for diierent width of windows and draperies.

As clearly indicated in Fig. 2, the cord strands 44 and 41 are spaced apart horizontally; and, as shown in Fig. 3, strand de goes over a grooved roller 54 and strand ill goes over a grooved roller 55. The rollers 5l! and 55 are mounted on a spindle 5S held by a plate 5l which is secured by screws on the top plate H of bracket l;

The plate i projects beyond the end of bracket l0 so the rollers 5e and 55 are positioned to carry the end 58 of cord ill outside but along the window casing 59, and in like manner the end S0 of cord 4l is carried parallel with end 58 of cord @il alongside window casing 59. The end 58 has thereon a weighted handle 6l and the end E0 has thereon a weighted handle 62.

This arrangement is, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, such that when handle el is pulled, cord fifi will draw the slide arm @2 in the direction toward the point of pulling while cord di having passed around roller [i5 will, through connector 3i, draw slide arm 22 in the opposite direction or away from the point of pulling, thus drawing the sets of draperies, held unchanged as to pleats and folds, toward each other to close oli" more or less of the window back of the draperies.

When the handle 52 is pulled the reverse operation takes place and the slides d2 and 22 are moved in opposite directions away from each other, and more or less of the window is uncovered.

The advantages of my invention have been made to appear quite clearly in the foregoing specification. The primary and fundamental advantage is that draperies may be set with their pinch pleats, folds and loops in the most advantageous and artistic manner and that adjustment of the drapes to cover more or less of the window may be eiiected without in any way disturbing the draperies as so set. A second great advantage of my invention resides in the fact that it enables the draperies to be positioned so as to entirely cover or entirely open up the whole window with any desired intermediate positions.

A further very great advantage of my invention cornes from the fact that pairs of draperies at each side of the window may be simultaneously moved to the same extent inwardly or. outwardly toward and from the exact center of the window and always will be symmetrically positioned with reference to the window. These drapery holders are admirably suited to hang draperies` at the sides of multiple windows, in which case, assuming there are three windows the draperies may be positioned to cover partsA or all of the side windows.

I claim:

1. In combination with the top rail of a window casing, a drapery holder having a bracket portion overlying and secured to the top of said' top rail, said bracket portion having a dependingpart extending vertically in spaced relation to the front of the casing, an open-ended guide secured to the side of said depending member, a slide member in said guide extended outwardly and having a supporting arm spaced from and held in parallel relation to the slide member with the space between them free and open at their inner ends for directly supporting a drapery, an actuator arm rigidly connected to the inner end of the slide member and extending to a point above the top of the top rail, a pair of' pulleys on the top ofthe rail, a pair of cords each passing over and about a respective one of said pulleys, handles on said cords, whereby pulling down on one cord will move the entire structure including the drapery thereon in one direction and pulling down on the other cord will move it in the other direction.

2. In combination with the top rail of a window casing, a drapery holder having a bracket portion overlying and secured to the top of said top rail, said bracket portion having a depending part extending vertically in spaced relation to the front of the casing, an open-ended guide secured to the side of said depending member, a slide member in said guide extended outwardly and having a supporting arm spaced from and held in parallel relation to the slide member with the space betweenthem free and open at their inner ends for directly supporting a drapery, an actuator arm rigidly connected to the inner end of the slide member and extending to a point above the top of the top rail, a pair of pulleys spaced laterally and having their axes above and parallel with the top of the top rail, a pair of cords each running over one only of said pulleys and extending vertically at the side of the window casing, said cords being in a position to be grasped by one standing beside the window, said cords being respectively connected with the slide and guided so thatpulling down on one cord will move the slide, including the drapery thereon in one direction and pulling down on the other cord will move the slide in the other direction.

3. In combination with the top rail of a window casing, a drapery holder having a bracket portion overlying and secured to the top of said top rail, said bracket portion having a depending part extending vertically in spaced relation to the front of the casing, an open-ended guide secured to the side of said depending member, a slide member in said guide extended outwardly and having a supporting arm spaced from and held in parallel relation to the slide member with the space between them free and open at their inner ends for directly supporting a drapery, an actuator arm rigidly connected to the inner end of the slide member and extending to a point above the top of the tcp rail, a pair of pulleys spaced laterally and having their axes above and parallel with the top of the top rail, a pair of cords each running over one only of said pulleys and extending vertically at the side of the window casing, said cords being in a position to be grasped by one standing beside the window, said cords connected with the slide and guided so pulling down on one cord will move the slide including the drapery thereon in one direction and pulling down on the other cord will move the slide in the other direction, said actuator having attached thereto a ring which serves as a guide and support for one of the cords.

4. In combination with the top rail of a window casing extending across each side casing and the intervening window space, a pair of drapery holders each having a bracket portion overlying and secured to the top of said top rail, each bracket portion having a depending part extending vertically in spaced relation to the front of the casing, an open-ended guide secured to the side of each of said depending members, a slide member in each of said guides respectively extending outwardly in opposite directions and having a supporting arm spaced from and held in parallel relation to the slide member with the space between the slide member and the supporting arm of each drapery holder free and open at their inner ends for directly supporting a drapery, an actuator arm rigidly connected to the inner end of each slide member and extending to a point above the top rail, a pair of pulleys mounted on the top rail at one side only of the window, a pair of cords each passing over one only of said pulleys and being connected with the respective actuator arms, said cords extending horizontally in parallel relation along the top of the top rail, said cords being respectively connected with both slides and being guided to move both slides simultaneously in opposite directions, whereby pulling down on one cord will move both drapery holders including the draperies thereon toward each other and pulling down on the other cord Will move both draperies in the opposite direction away from each other.

ORVILLE T. STALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 843,008 Gerheiser Feb. 5, 1907 1,229,672 Sweney June 12, 1917 1,625,160 Robinson Apr. 19, 1927 2,334,809 G. B. Davis, Jr Nov. 23, 1943 2,400,010 Kuyher -1 May 7, 1946 FOREGN PATENTS Number Country Date 15,079 Great Britain 1910 

